07 Prius upgrades (bluetooth and Ipod?)

Check out this head unit: Amazon.com: Sony DSXS310BTX Digital Media Receiver with Pandora Stream: Car Electronics It has bluetooth and an external connection. Plus you could store your ipod inside! I keep mine inside all the time and it works great. It really improved the quality of the stereo in the prius by a factor of 10 (at least). Plus I can tune a lot more radio stations.

For install instructions check out this thread: Stealth install an aftermarket stereo in Prius | PriusChat I followed the instructions and it worked out great! I also used this control module so I can keep using the steering wheel controls and they work perfect. Amazon.com: Metra Axxess ASWC Universal Steering Wheel Control Interface (Black): Car Electronics

Here are the wiring kits I used:
Amazon.com: Metra Axxess ASWC Universal Steering Wheel Control Interface (Black): Car Electronics
Amazon.com: Metra 71-1761 87 - 94 Toyota Vehicle Harness: Car Electronics

The install is advanced but not impossible. I don't know a whole lot about wiring but I just got butt connectors from lowes and it worked well. I also needed the mentioned 68ohm resitor in the instruction forum to get my mfd working again. I don't have a link for that but I got it at radio shack for ~$1.

 

There are several solutions for this but Parrot is very popular. Parrot - All Products Products that are hardwired in are more costly but the audio quality is the best and usually work with factory steering wheel controls.

Other methods use FM modulation or their own speakers. I installed this one:

BT-390 JENSEN WIRELESS BLUE TOOTH KIT W/ MUSIC STREAMING FOR ALL CARS | eBay

in my wife's 09 Civic and she likes it fine for phone use (the mic is much better than built in mics on the headunits of aftermarket radios I've tried). We prefer the included speaker instead of going through the FM band. It also has a mini-usb connector on the display screen but I don't recall if it supplies charging voltage for an ipod. She prefers satellite radio so I can't comment of music streaming.

 

Sat radio is subscription based and the cost is determined by what level of programming you want (just like cable tv). Starts at about $9/month. You can stream music from the internet (pandora, internet radio, etc) "for free" with your smart phone but it's not truly free since you need a phone and data plan.

With either, you're probably going to have intermittent reception problems with mountains and trees where you live.

In my experience, the previous ebay link is the easiest and cheapest ($49) but I'm sure there are others.

 

Sorry but the BT390 may be out for you.

I looked at the manual (see it here= Jensen BT-390 free User's Manual (Page 30) ) and the USB connection is only for firmware updates thus you can't dock the ipod to it. It will stream music from a smartphone, mute it when you have an incoming call, and resume playing when you hang up.

There are some older versions (BT360/380) selling new on ebay for as little as $35 shipped ATM. Amazon has the 390 for $200!!!!

 

For almost the same money, you seem to be getting many less features. If the level of effort is a major factor, these would suffice.

 

In my opinion, this is the best single upgrade that I've done to my Prius and I'm guessing it will be the best that I could do. I never knew how terribly the stock head unit sounded. I was unable to get but a few radio stations. The stock head unit really doesn't do the stock speakers justice. This head unit transformed the sound I hear. It has so many options including equalizers that you can manually set to get the best sound. With this head unit I am actually questioning if I want to get another sub for the bottom end. The bottom end is definitely there but it is lacking a bit. The head unit I linked has the ability to keep your ipod plugged in, charging, and controlled from the controls of the unit. (I keep my 30gb inside). It also has a usb on the outside of the unit where I plugged in a 16gb flash card. At all times I have ~46gb of music in my car. You can also plug your ipod into the usb of the outside if you do want to keep a cord and have the unit outside (a pain imo). If you have a smart phone with data and pandora this unit also has the ability to control pandora from the face of the unit. You can like/dislike songs and skip. It will also show you the song title. Also I know get about 6-8 additional radio stations that I couldn't tune before. I can also stream music on my phone or another non pandora service like tunein radio.

Oh I also wanted to add that calls work great from the phone. I ran the mic wire up the column and have it pointed at my face when I'm driving. People say I'm as clear as if I was talking directly into the phone. If I'm doing less than 40mph I can keep the driver's side window down but over that people complain. It's nice since I can still make calls from my phone and it interrupts play back but when we hang up it resumes play back. Also if you get a call it rings and you can answer from the unit or your phone.

With the steering wheel control unit (in my signature) I can do almost everything from the steering wheel which I really like. I can change volume, scan for radio stations, skip songs (pandora, on my phone, ipod, usb, anything).

I bought all of my supplies of Amazon save the ~$1 resistor from radio shack. I will post links to everything I bought if you're interested. I've also meant to make a guide with pictures that I haven't gotten to yet.

 

That is the older model of the one I bought.. I believe the only difference is that one doesn't allow "liking/disliking" pandora songs from the unit.